Between Kelly Rowland's profile-raising stint as an X Factor judge and the ubiquity of her autumn hit Down for Whatever, this album should have been packed with enough "plot" to send it straight to the top 10. Yet it stalled at 43 (though it reached No 3 in the US), and that's regrettable; it's a confident, forthright collection that puts paid to the perception that she's Beyoncé Knowles's former sidekick. Though not the most characterful singer, Rowland compensates by choosing expressive, memorable songs (including the lewdly pulsing All of the Night, which contains the head-scratching line: "It's going down like a basement" – why a basement?). Smoothly steering between R&B and Eurodance, she's breathily seductive on Motivation – by contrast, guest Lil Wayne is positively anaemic – while I'm Dat Chick updates the jumpy minimalism of Destiny's Child's No, No, No. She's unlikely to dislodge Queen B, but this album shows Rowland to be worthy of consideration in her own right.